


An Unfortunate Fall

by goddess_of_cynicism



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, M/M, here you go i guess, hiking/running au, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 03:31:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9216668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddess_of_cynicism/pseuds/goddess_of_cynicism
Summary: Yuri is a trail runner who happens to trip over a rock, fall into the creek he's trying to cross, and injure his ankle; Otabek is the hiker who finds him.





	

It had been a relatively good day before the jagged rock appeared out of nowhere and tangled up between his feet, sending him flying directly into the creek he was about to cross. It was a surprise even to Yuri himself, as he generally prided himself on his agility, and so there he lay, in the middle of the shallow creek, feeling a throbbing in his ankle which could only connote his ultimate downfall. The half-marathon he was supposed to run in two days time was the first thing to pop up in his brain. Fuck. 

Fuck was most certainly right, as after one failed (and painful) attempt to rise, Yuri found himself sitting in an awkward and uncomfortable position in the middle of a creek at 6:30 a.m. Yes, the state park was busy during the day, but now? The ungodly hour of six in the morning would become his greatest fucking inconvenience, and Yuri cursed the trail running deities for throwing him so unsympathetically into his current circumstance. 

The branches of the willows above him swayed in the pale breaths of wind brushing through their smooth leaves, and birds tittered to one another as they swooped, fluttering, from one bough to another. A robin, perched somewhere overhead, sang out clearly from his full red breast in throes of joy to welcome the sun, and the other fowl answered his salutation with their own. 

Yuri wanted to give them all the finger. Nothing worse than happy motherfuckers who pretend they don't see your struggle. 

He undid his ponytail and ran his fingers through his hair, working out the knots left by the brisk morning air and tried to center himself. He wasn't seriously injured, he knew that, but the fact that he would not be able to run the marathon in two days was a definite and unavoidable disappointment. Yuri let his face fall into his hands and clawed at his cheeks angrily—this unfortunate event reminded him of the encounter he'd had at a race a few years prior. Needless to say, there'd been lots of awkwardness involved: a spat with another contestant, Yuri's being tripped, a bumbling and flustered medic on the race course who hit on him while trying to tend to Yuri's damages. Yuri remembered having a serious case of secondhand embarrassment for the medic, but he still hadn't given the man a way out. He teased him and then said something sarcastic; it really was hard not to be an asshole. All the idiotic people Yuri found himself dealing with all day were almost asking to be verbally attacked, and he'd be more than willing to deliver—after all, it was far superior to be the hunter rather than the hunted. 

An indeterminate period of time passed in which Yuri thought about his running successes, lamented his current predicament, continued to sit in the stream (at least it was the height of summer), and crafted a few little leaf boats, all of which went sailing only to quickly crash up against rocks and twigs. In other words, precious time in which he could have been steeling himself for the running event (which he would no longer be doing, his conscience was quick to remind him). God, how he hated being immobile and unable to help himself; he was always and had always been his own savior, and it really was quite irritating to be stuck in the woods relying solely on someone else's passing through. On some idiotic hiker's probably useless aid and stupid concerned comments. 

\------------------

Yuri was alert the second he heard the familiar crunching of leaves, the sound of someone's steady approach. Fucking finally too. He'd made one leaf boat too many. 

The path from which he'd come lay on the wooded and bracken-covered slope down to the water's edge, and it was from this direction that the noise could be heard. For a moment it seemed to fade (Yuri almost sighed) but then it grew stronger and from around an oversized wild strawberry bush stepped a man. 

And yes. The man was indeed a hiker, Yuri was pretty sure, but he also happened to stand in Yuri's mental books as perhaps one of the most attractive people he had yet encountered. The man might still be idiotic, but he could not be entirely bad, surely, if he was so. . . 

Yuri thought maybe his brain had short-circuited, because suddenly when he snapped out of his momentary trance, the man had advanced and was standing on the bank of the creek, looking at Yuri with a subdued curiosity. 

Yuri gave the man a slow nod and rolled his eyes. "Hey there."  
The man didn't move for a moment. Then. "Nice to meet you."

His voice was deep and scratchy, and it sounded kind of like he hadn't used it in a while. Yuri wasn't familiar with that—whenever he could talk, he would, and it would usually be a mock-scathing comment or an unironic arrogant jab—and maybe this man's rough vocal chords were just the kind of exotic Yuri needed. The man looked foreign too: dark hair tied up loosely in a half-bun, olive skin. But Yuri knew it was the man's physique that really grabbed all of his attention—broad-shouldered, defined legs, masculine in a way Yuri would never be able to achieve with his lithe frame. He was honestly probably blushing obviously at this point. 

"Hey. . ." Yuri began. "Would you mind helping me out for a sec'? I. . . uh, tripped while I was running. . ."

It wasn't like him to speak so circuitously. But then again, it's not easy to explain why you're sitting in a creek with a crown made out of soggy aspen leaves on your head. Yuri supposed it was all relative though. 

"I think I hurt my ankle," he gestured. "I can't get up by myself."

The man was already carefully setting down his walking stick and slipping out of his travel backpack. He seemed to consider taking off his hiking boots, but refrained and instead hopped down into the creek. As the man stoically made his way towards Yuri, who watched in a wary disbelief, he began to smile, ever so slightly. It was barely noticeable, but it blossomed the closer he got. The smile did some strange wonder to the man's symmetrical face, made his eyes alight, his cheekbones visible, and Yuri knew he definitely blushing now. 

The man bent over, slid his hands under Yuri's arms and hoisted him up. Despite the strangeness of the situation, all of Yuri's concentration immediately went to the warm feeling of the man's hands. But as with most good things, it ended as soon as it had begun, and Yuri was sitting on the grassy bank of the stream, soaking wet and flushed. 

The man stood before him, and Yuri saw those eyes rove over his body once, seeking the places where his clothes clung tightly to his skin, but then the man seemed to recollect himself. Yuri needed those eyes again, he hungered for that fleeting gaze. 

"Otabek," the man said.  
"Yuri," Yuri said, feeling a bit of his usual blasé confidence returning. "And thanks, of course."  
"My pleasure," Otabek said, hands hanging at his sides, but Yuri could tell he was aching to put them in his pockets.  
"So do you hike here often?"  
Otabek shook his head. "This is my first day."

Obviously Yuri was going to be the one prompting. "It's nice here, isn't it? The woods. . . I mean. . ."  
Otabek quirked a smile. "Yes, very nice. It's also very nice to meet someone, you know-"  
Yuri looked at him. "Someone?"  
"-someone like you."  
"Like me," Yuri choked out. 

Otabek looked back, seeming unashamed and definitely unapologetic. And certainly not the type of person Yuri was used to. 

"Let me look at your foot," Otabek said.  
"Um. . ." Yuri faltered. "I mean, it's fine. That's kind of gross, I don't know. . ."  
"It's not gross," Otabek said in that slow manner of his. He formed each meaningless word like it was a little gift, a little masterpiece.  
He moved forward and took Yuri's shoe-clad foot in hand. Yuri, absurdly, had the image of an animated Cinderella flash through his head, with thoughts of the prince in quick succession. He guessed the only thing to do was to roll with whatever the hell was happening. 

Otabek removed Yuri's sneaker, and then his wet sock, and examined the slightly swollen ankle bone, gently running a calloused thumb over it. A series of other unwelcome pictures flooded into Yuri's mind at the same time, and he nearly had to jerk his foot away for fear of other more obvious displays. 

"You just need to ice it, but you probably already know that," Otabek gave Yuri a small smile. "I like that crown, by the way."  
He reached up and brushed his fingers over Yuri's forehead, touching the strands of hair that lay there. 

Yuri leaned into the touch. Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad to miss the marathon.

**Author's Note:**

> that's all.  
> hmu on tumblr if ya want @ http://your-neighborhood-cynic.tumblr.com/


End file.
